Kristopher from North Carolina

September 20, 2009
First, NewEnough is great. I don't know what else to say about them, they're just great! Some of their closeout prices are super steals! I especially like being able to have a dollar of my purchase price go to the forum of my choice (SVRider.com) for their promotions!
Second, the jacket is very high quality with thick leather, YKK zippers and snaps instead of velcro (the only velcro on this jacket is the small zipper-stay just below the neck.. I HATE velcro on clothing!)
First, the sizing.. I'm 6' tall, 165 lbs, slim/athletic build. Although I have wide shoulders, I bought a medium because of my slim abdomen, hoping that this jacket would be sized like an athletic-fit shirt, NOT like the normal-fit shirts you find everyday in stores (which are designed to accommodate this country's.. ahem, ballooning stomach sizes/average weight). I was pleased to find out, it fit my athletic build perfectly, though there is a design issue that causes a problem while riding.. which I'll get to in a moment.
First problem with this jacket, it is not available in a medium long (because of cost-effectiveness I'm sure.. marketing issue).
Design issues: the construction of this jacket wasn't done with the riding position in mind. The shoulders/arms of the jacket are designed like a normal jacket, so when you are in the riding position, it lifts the shoulders, pulls back on the arms, and doesn't sit quite perfect like a jacket would that is designed for the riding position. It's nothing major or uncomfortable, in fact it's quite minor, but made more noticeable by the fact that I have long arms and torso, and since there is no medium long available, the wrist of the jacket creeps back a little further than I'd like.
Second, the belt loop strap (for keeping the jacket connected to your pants) has only one fairly weak snap to fasten it. Two snaps would have been sufficient, but having just one lets the strap release when the jacket raises when I'm in the riding position because of the minor shoulder/arm design issue.
I wrote a lot about that, but seriously they are VERY minor issues, and I love this jacket. If they made a medium long, I'd exchange this one for that, which would eliminate my problem with the wrists creeping too far back from the design issue. The style is a very laid-back, cafe-hooligan look, the leather is great, pocket arrangement is nice, with 2 outer, 3 inner pockets. I especially like the pocket just inside the main zipper that opens vertically, which is much larger than you'd expect (I fit a 9 inch meatball sub and some chocolate cake in there!.. don't ask) This jacket is very warm without the liner, and the liner is pretty nice, though it hasn't been cold enough to use it yet. The vents work well, yet I still think this jacket would be too hot in the summer in moderately hot, humid climates. Overall, I would certainly recommend this jacket.